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Fretboard notes chart
The natural notes, with no sharps or flats, on every string from the open string to the 12th fret. The top line is the thin high e string, as in TAB.
Moving up one string runs through the musical alphabet with a sharp or flat between every pair of letters except B–C and E–F, which sit on neighboring frets.
Every note, frets 0 to 12
Sharps are shown here; each also has a flat name (C# is the same note as Db, F# is Gb, and so on). Frets 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 carry the dot markers on most guitars, which makes them useful landmarks.
| String | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (high e) | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E |
| 2nd (B) | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B |
| 3rd (G) | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G |
| 4th (D) | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D |
| 5th (A) | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A |
| 6th (low E) | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E |
Tap any fret to hear it
Hear any position at its real pitch, and see every other place the same note appears: the exact same pitch on another string, and the same note in other octaves.
Explore
Explore the fretboard
Tap any string and fret to hear it and see its name. The blue diamonds are the exact same pitch on another string; the grey dots are the same note in other octaves.
Nothing selected yet. Try fret 3 on the low E string.
Find any note with octave shapes
Learn the natural notes on the 6th and 5th strings first. From there, octave shapes carry each note up the neck without memorizing every string separately:
- From the 6th string (low E), the same note an octave up is on the 4th string (D), two frets higher.
- From the 5th string (A), the same note an octave up is on the 3rd string (G), two frets higher.
- From the 4th string (D), the same note an octave up is on the 2nd string (B), three frets higher.
- From the 3rd string (G), the same note an octave up is on the 1st string (high e), three frets higher.
For a step-by-step memorization plan, read how to memorize the guitar fretboard.
Quick note check
Five questions to see what has stuck. Cover the chart above if you want a fair test.
Optional
Try a quick note check
Five questions on G, C, D and A: three ask you to find a note one octave up, two ask you to name a marked spot. The answers are hidden until you check, so cover the chart above if you want a fair test.
Practice in the app
The note-finding drill names a note and you tap where it lives, on the strings and frets you choose. Learn mode gives hints; Test mode gives you one try. You answer on screen; the app does not listen to your guitar. It's free, with no sign-up.
Bass fretboard notes
A 4-string bass is tuned E, A, D, G (E1 A1 D2 G2): the same note names as the lowest four guitar strings, one octave lower. Everything above, including the octave shapes between those strings, carries straight over. A 5-string bass adds a low B string below the E.
| String | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (G) | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G |
| 2nd (D) | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D |
| 3rd (A) | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A |
| 4th (E) | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E |
Start the bass note drill or see a bass scale such as the E minor pentatonic.